Call me eggcentric

Let's talk about the egg for a bit. Without question the egg must be considered one of a few foods which deserve to be called "perfect". They are little single servings held in their own compostable container. Each serving has a significant amount of your body's daily requirement for protein with little fat. Doctors are even saying that the cholesterol in eggs is "good" cholesterol as long as you don't eat a few dozen a week. And by the way, the mere fact that eggs come in groups of six, twelve or eighteen must have some cosmic significance which we mere mortals have yet to grasp!

For me the best thing about the egg is its versatility. Frequently eggs are used in baking, in souffles, custards and in egg cremes. They can be whipped, scrambled, beaten, fried, boiled and poached without so much as a whimper from the egg. Eggs are good for breakfast, lunch, dinner or for late night munchies. And baby, if you've ever had a farm fresh egg then you are livin. One trip to the chicken coop, some gentle coaxing, and wahlah, you have breakfast in your hand! The chicken won't complain about your thievery either because she knows she could be next on the menu. By the way, how many foods do you know that eat a little grain and pop out other food on a regular basis? Okay, cows, sheep and goats but that's about it. And none of those bear eggs you can eat.

Continuing with the versatility theme, think about how many different ingredients combine with eggs to create something new and fabulous to the palate. Eggs love being paired with onion, broccoli, spinach, chive, mushrooms, chilis, peppers and avacado to name a few veggies. Ham, bacon, sausage and steak represent a few meat selections to couple with your eggs. And the cheeses you can cook into eggs include swiss, cheddar, brie, pepper jack, monterey jack and goat cheese as a short list. Let's not forget the hollandaise either. These days folks, real men, real women and real children all eat quiche and they love it. Hell, even one of my favorite pasta dishes, pasta carbonara, incorporates eggs as an essential ingredient. Hard boiled, par boiled, poached and even raw eggs are among the most adaptable of all foods.

So the next time you are having trouble settling on something different but satisfying for dinner, scramble up some of those little white, oval gems with whatever else you have in the fridge, toast yourself a bagel or wrap them in a burrito, and enjoy the perfect simplicity of the egg. When you're talking eggs, it really is true that if you can imagine it, somebody can cook it.